Lodewijk Woltjer Lecture

2016

for his outstanding career on theoretical implications of General Relativity and in particular on
the prediction of the newly-observed gravitational wave signal of coalescing binary black holes.

Thibault Damour is a French theoretical physicist born in 1951 in Lyon. After studies at the
Ecole Normale Supérieure de la rue d'Ulm (1970-1974), he obtained his Thèse de
Doctorat de troisième cycle in 1974 (Université de Paris VI), and, later, his
Thèse de Doctorat d'Etat ès Sciences Physiques (Université de Paris VI,
10 janvier 1979). He started his career (1977-1989) as researcher at the Centre National de
la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). Since 1989 he is permanent professor at the Institut des
Hautes Etudes Scientifiques (IHES).

Thibault Damour is a theoretical physicist working on consequences of Einstein's theory of
General Relativity, and its String Theory extensions. He has made lasting contributions on:
the theory of black holes, the dynamics and relativistic timing of binary pulsars, the generation
of gravitational waves, the motion and coalescence of black holes, as well as several aspects
of early cosmology. He has introduced in 2000 (with several collaborators) a new method for
describing the motion and gravitational radiation of coalescing binary black holes, which gave
the first prediction of the gravitational wave signal observed by LIGO in September 2015. His
work was crucially used for interpreting the observed signal and measuring the masses and spins
of the two coalescing black holes.

2015

for her outstanding career in molecular astrophysics, in particular in the domain of star and planet formation.

Ewine F. van Dishoeck's research is at the boundary of astronomy, laboratory astrophysics and
chemistry and uses ground- and space-based observatories in the infrared and sub-millimetre
range. Her current scientific focus is on the physical and chemical evolution of material from
interstellar clouds to planet-forming disks and the importance of molecules as diagnostics of
the star-formation process.

Ewine F. van Dishoeck is a Dutch astronomer and chemist born in 1955 in Leiden. Graduated at
Leiden University, she held positions in the United States at Harvard, Princeton and Caltech
from 1984 to 1990. She returned to the University of Leiden in 1990, where she became professor
of molecular astrophysics in 1995. She is also an external scientific member of the Max Planck
Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching. She authored or co-authored more than 450
refereed publications with over 25'000 citations and holds many national and international
science policy functions, including scientific director of the Netherlands Research School for
Astronomy (NOVA), president of Division H of the International Astronomical Union, former member
of the Board of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), co-PI of the MIRI
instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and co-I of the HIFI instrument on the
Herschel Space Observatory. She has been fortunate to receive the Dutch Spinoza award, an ERC
Advanced grant, and the Dutch Academy Prize. She is a Member of the Dutch Royal Academy of
Sciences and the Leopoldina German Academy of Sciences, Foreign Associate of the US National
Academy of Sciences, and Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

2014

for his outstanding career in theoretical and high-energy astrophysics, cosmology, X-ray astronomy and space research.

Rashid A. Sunyaev was born and finished secondary school in Tashkent, before graduating
from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in 1966. He then became the PhD student
of Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich, who knew how to inspire his young colleague. The two scientists
collaborated tightly over 22-years at the interface of theory and experiment. Sunyaev was Full
Professor at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology from 1975 to 2001. He was first the
Head of the Laboratory of Theoretical Astrophysics at the Space Research Institute of Moscow
(1974-1982) and then of the High Energy Astrophysics Department in the same institute (1982-2002).
Since 1992 he is Chief Scientist at this institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He became
director of the Max-Planck Institute for Astrophysics in 1996 and then Maureen and John Hendricks
Visiting Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study of Princeton in 2010. During his extremely
successful career, Sunyaev has received numerous honours and awards all around the world.

2013

for her fundamental contributions to the understanding of Active Galactic Nuclei.

Suzy Collin-Zahn was born and studied in Paris. Her first scientific interests were in
the domain of plasma physics applied to the solar corona. She turned to the study of AGN
in the early days of the subject and ever since contributed original elements to the slowly
emerging puzzle. Suzy has led a lively research group in the Paris observatory for several
decades. She contributed to astrophysics through her research, but also through her teaching,
the popular books she wrote and her participation in national and international committees.
Suzy Collin-Zahn is now emeritus associate astronomer at the Paris observatory.

2012

for his fundamental contributions to the study of supernova explosions.

Prof. Wolfgang Hillebrandt was born in 1944. He studied physics and
mathematics at the University of Cologne were he obtained his PhD in
1973. After some time at Caltech in California and some at the Technical
University of Darmstadt, he joined the Max Planck Institute for Physics
and Astrophysics in Munich in 1978 and then Garching, where he became
director. He is Honorary Professor at the Technische Universität München.

2011

Prof. George Miley was born in 1942 and has dual Irish and Dutch
nationality. He studied at University College Dublin and obtained his
PhD in 1968 from the University of Manchester, home of the Jodrell Bank
radio telescope. He joined the staff of Leiden University in 1970 and
has spent several years in the US, including 4 years on the staff of
the Space Telescope Science Institute. Prof. Miley is the initiator of
the "Universe Awareness" programme aimed to inspire economically
disadvantaged children with astronomy and, as IAU Vice President, he has
recently led the development of the IAU Strategic Plan 2010 - 2020,
"Astronomy for the Developing World".

2010

accepted to give the first "Lodewijk Woltjer Lecture" at the opening session
of the EWASS 2010 on Monday, September 7, 2010, in Lisbon, Portugal.

Professor Lodewijk Woltjer is one of Europe's outstanding astronomers of
the second half of the twentieth century. First of all Lodewijk Woltjer
made significant contributions to theoretical astrophysics, from his
fundamental work on the Crab nebula and his studies on hydromagnetic
equilibrium to the energy source of Radio Galaxies and Quasars. After
serving as chairman at the Astronomy Department of Columbia University
in New York, a position he held for ten years, Lodewijk Wolter in 1975
became Director General of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Under
his leadership ESO established itself as one of the world's leading
astronomical institutes.

Lodewijk Woltjer realised with great foresight what needed to be done
in order for Europe to bridge the gap that existed in observational
astronomy with other countries. He initiated the development of new
instrumentation and telescope technology whose highlight, the Very Large
Telescope, has become the world's most successful ground- based
observatory and has re-established Europe's leadership in observational
optical astronomy.

Twenty years ago Lodewijk Woltjer initiated the foundation of the European
Astronomical Society and became its first president. A few years later
Lodewijk Woltjer became president of the International Astronomical Union.